ECW Wrestlepalooza 05.08.1995
Philadelphia, PA
ANGLE: Paul E. Dangerously cuts a short promo, saying that 911 received a 60 days suspension for putting his hands on Bill Alfonso at the last show, which is ridiculous. Not only that, but Fonzie ruled that the chokeslam is now legal, just to make a fool out of them! Paul E. promises that this is not over!
1. Dean Malenko def. Chris Benoit (13 mins)
A very delightful “WCW 1996” opener here in the ECW Arena. Joey Styles talks about Benoit and Malenko making a great first impression in ECW, also thanks to Shane Douglas, but then Shane’s campaigns and their other commitments have impacted on their run, especially since they lost the Tag Team Titles. Benoit has not been a fan of Malenko’s sportsmanship against Eddie Guerrero in their series, which has caused tension between the two. They get to open the show and Malenko wins with an inside cradle
ANGLE: Eddie Guerrero addresses both and says that, to address the rumours, they all won’t be in ECW for long… but the fans can’t deny that they have busted their butts! He vows to retain the TV Title tonight and, at the next Arena show, he wants to settle the score: no more time limit draws or ties, a decisive three way dance to decide who’s the better man!
2. Tommy Dreamer def. Dudley Dudley (w/ Big Dick Dudley) (6 mins)
The Dudleys have pretty much replaced the Pitbulls by now, meaning that they are Raven’s muscles, as he can easily manipulate them due to their naivety and their insecurities about their own looks. Dreamer faces Dudley here and wants to send a message to the whole group, finally addressed as the Nest. Dreamer pays no attention to distractions and wins with his DDT
ANGLE: Raven, Stevie Richards and Beulah come down for their match… but Stevie waves and Francine comes down the aisle too, as she can manage Stevie now! Beulah is furious and says that there’s not enough place for the both of them, but Raven holds her by the hair to prevent a catfight (while Richards would love it and instigates it). Tod Gordon arrives on the stage and he finally books Beulah vs Francine for the next show, the winner will be the only woman in the Nest and the loser will be forced to leave the group! Before anyone can protest, the Pitbulls arrive for the title match and so the bell rings!
3. ECW World Tag Team Titles: Raven & Stevie Richards (c) (w/ Beulah and Francine) def. The Pitbulls by DQ (5 mins)
More than a proper match, this is an angle to prepare for the next few things that will soon happen in ECW. Thanks to their fury, their bigger chemistry and the fact that they started the match on a surprise attack, the Pitbulls have the upper hand on the champions! Raven and Stevie have a little bit momentum, they mostly get dominated… but the referee gets knocked down! Pitbull 1 hits the superbomb on Stevie… but Fonzie arrives as the replacement referee and, instead of counting the pinfall, disqualifies the Pitbulls for the savage way they started physicality before the bell rang!
ANGLE: Fonzie explains the rules, while the Arena boos him. Dreamer comes down to protest too, while the Dudleys arrive to protect Raven. Tod Gordon says this is a travesty and the fans just got robbed too, so he orders an impromptu 3v4 handicap match: Raven, Stevie, Dudley and Big D against Dreamer and Pitbulls… but Cactus Jack makes his return and gets on the stage, saying that he’s here for his friend Tommy and the 4v4 officially starts!
4. Raven, Stevie Richards, Big Dick Dudley & Dudley Dudley (w/ Beulah and Francine) def. Tommy Dreamer, The Pitbulls & Cactus Jack (12 mins)
Fonzie is still the referee. The match actually took place and it was quite decent. None of them will be extremely tired, which would help their performances. Beulah and Francine, unable to get along as usual, catfight again and get taken to the back. Dreamer is the babyface in perils and finally seems ready to tag in Cactus (who didn’t get tagged in yet), but Cactus DDTs him! Big D uses the chokeslam on Dreamer (not illegal anymore, now that 911 is suspended) and Cactus puts Raven on top of Dreamer for the pinfall!
ANGLE: Raven celebrates with his lackeys and pats Cactus on the back, saying that he feels his pain! It’s all over and now he stands on the right side! Joey Styles is shocked about Cactus siding with Raven and betraying his friend Dreamer
5. The Steiner Brothers def. JT Smith & Hack Myers (5 mins)
We return from intermission with the Steiners’ debut in ECW, which was quite of a big deal at the time, even though we know it’s not going to last long. They face Myers and the returning JT Smith, who are an improvised babyface team. They do okay despite the stacked odds against them, but then JT does his infamous dive botch and falls out of the ring. Myers, left 2v1, gets beaten by Scott’s frenkensteiner
6. ECW World Television Title: Too Cold Scorpio def. Eddie Guerrero (c) (15 mins)
Eddie defends the TV Title and, as Joey Styles mentions, he already promised to face Malenko and Guerrero, whether the title is on the line or not, at the next show. Plus, Axl Rotten is soon ready to come back and have his title shot, while Taz is on commentary and his feud with Scorpio is not over yet. They have a good match and Scorpio keeps going towards a heel turn, winning the title after an “unintentional” low blow and the 450 splash on Eddie
ANGLE: Scorpio celebrates, but Taz jumps in the ring. Taz says that him and Scorpio started a friendly feud, in a way, just to see who was the better man. But lately, Scorpio has been so dirty and scheming that he is dying to have rematch for the TV Title… and this time Scorpio won’t be saved by any trick! Scorpio apologises for the way he cheated in their match at the last show, he just wanted the gold… he’s addicted! He pretends to shake Taz’s hand, but then piledrives Taz on the TV Title! Paul E. and medics come down to help Taz, as his neck probably broke (this is the show where he gets injured, but I didn’t have a space on the card for him)
7. #1 Contender vs 10 Lashes Match: The Sandman (w/ Woman) def. Mikey Whipwreck (8 mins)
Joey Styles says Mikey shouldn’t have accepted this stipulation: he can win a World Title shot here, something that Mikey never though he could do in his lifetime; but, if he loses, he will be caned to oblivion and he can’t take that because he’s still... well, Mikey. The match, of course, is about Sandman dominating and bullying Mikey, who sells and makes a few surprising comebacks, getting a few 2.75 counts. Sandman gets the cane involved and legdrops Mikey to win the match
ANGLE: They do the real life caning of Mikey, while Sandman keeps bullying him and Woman almost has an orgasm while she sees poor Mikey being tortured, a punishment for him kissing her and thinking he could beat a real man. Despite the referee and Tod Gordon offering to take the shots for him, Sandman gives him all 10 of them… but Woman tells him to continue anyway! Sandman tries to take the 11th shot, but the Public Enemy arrive! The Enemies say that Sandman is taking their time now, as they can’t wait to put their hands on the Gangstas, but also… why doesn’t he mess with somebody that is as hardcore as him? Sandman considers getting into a fight with the Enemies, but Woman advices him to back off as he’s tired and alone, so Sandman leaves
8. Stretcher Match: The Public Enemy def. The Gangstas (11 mins)
This is the main event, not only because the other big matches had the heels going over and this can send the crowd happy instead; but also because this is the rematch of the Philly Street Fight, which was a shameful loss for the Enemies, as the Gangstas came to their Philly hood and won the fight. The feud has been a thing for a bit now, so by now we know that the Gangstas are upset about the Enemies claiming that they’re ghetto kids and bad, when they’re too white boys that don’t know what the hood and tough life are etc. The Enemy finally get some revenge when Rock hits a driveby on Jack, straight on a stretcher, so they can secure him on the stretcher to win the match
